Finish Line Q&A with the EWS Whistler Podium Finishers

This weekend's Enduro World Series race brought all the intensity we'd expect, with Canadian crowds cheering on the Sea to Sky athletes as they mixed it up at the top of the sport. We saw all kinds of highs and lows in both the women's and men's fields. Andreane Lanthier-Nadeau rode a commanding race all day and held the lead from Stage 1 until a puncture fix that didn't hold led to a crash and an ankle injury in the final stage, which dropped her down to fifth place. That win is still elusive for her, but she's been so close so many times, and she's doing some seriously impressive riding on her way to that eventual gold medal. In the men's field, Richie Rude was hot on Melamed's heels until the final stage, when, similarly, a flat took him out of contention for the win.

Hattie Harnden, meanwhile, won the pro stage Saturday, then fought back from a mid-race crash to take her third career win. The young multi-sport athlete is clearly on the up-and-up. Morgane Charre likewise fought back after placing 11th in the pro stage, inching her way up the results sheet all day before landing herself on the second podium spot. Pinkbike Academy winner Flo Espineira, a Chilean now living in Whistler, rounded out the top three with their first ever EWS podium, back at the same venue where they had a breakout 11th place at their first EWS race outside of South America.

The men's podium was notably Canadian, with Jesse Melamed backing up his 2017 victory in Whistler in front of his home crowd. The Squamish rider has been on fire this year without a single finish outside of the top two, so it's no surprise that he landed himself on top. Jack Moir found the pace that's been eluding him so far this season, pushing through the long day to second place, and Remi Gauvin took third to celebrate his first time standing on an EWS podium.

It was the best and most brutal of racing.

Congratulations, Hattie, on the win. How’d it feel?

Oh, amazing. Like a dream come true.

Was there a point in the day when you realized you could take the win?

It kind of went up and down as the day went on, like I had a good stage then a not-so-good stage, and I honestly didn’t think I was in the mix. I had a bit of a crash on Stage 3 and I thought that took me out, so I just went all for it at the end and it seemed to work.

What was your favorite stage?

It was Stage 2. It was quite short but it was intense, lots of wiggles, and it was just a really fun stage.

Is that your riding style? Intense and really involved?

I have no idea, I love riding everything. I just sometimes go fast on some things and not on others, but it’s all great fun.

Have you raced here in Whistler before?

No, this is my first time to Whistler ever, so it’s quite the way to start a trip to Whistler.

And you’re still one of the youngest people to ever win an EWS. How does that feel looking forward?

Oh, amazing. Tracey is the lady who got me into it, and I’ve always looked up to her, and I feel like following in her footsteps is something that is a dream.

Congratulations, Morgane. How are you doing?

I’m really happy. I just got on the podium today, and yeah I’m really stoked. Yesterday I was pretty far back – I think I was 11th on the first stage, and then this morning didn’t feel so great, and then this afternoon I just really enjoyed the stages.

What was your strategy coming into today and trying to fight back up?

I think yesterday I couldn’t really get into a racing mode again, because it’s been maybe five weeks since the last one. I was like, just go for it, push. And it worked out.

Did you have a favorite stage?

I think Stage 3, Miss Fire. I really liked that one. It’s a big, rough track with roots and loamy dirt, everything I love.

How did coming here this time compare to other times you’ve raced in Whistler?

This time was pretty hard liaisons, but the course was really good. I’m really happy to be back here. It’s been three years.

Congratulations, Flo, on an amazing race. How did it feel?

It just feels awesome to get the biggest achievement of my career here in Whistler, home, with all my friends. I’m pretty stoked about it.

Whistler is where you had a breakthrough EWS result years ago, right?

Yeah, here is a really special venue for me. Five years ago, I raced this same race, and it was the one that made me take the decision to try to become a pro racer.

Did you have a favorite stage today?

Yeah, actually I had quite a lot of fun on Ride Don’t Slide, Miss Fire, those were quite tough as well.

Do you feel like those really technical stages are your strength?

I don’t know if I was strong, but I had fun, so that’s good.

Cheers Jesse, congratulations on another win here in Canada. How did your day go out there?

It was a roller coaster, actually. I flatted on one of the stages. The first two were good, and I was feeling like, “Okay, I can do this if I keep it together.” Out of nowhere, I flatted and it was such a deflated feeling – pun intended, sure – and then I had to pedal so hard because it was a bit flowy after that and so I just did not give up, pedaled as hard as I could, got to the bottom of the stage, had a bunch of help from the racers, fixed it, put tons of plugs in there, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to hold. So all of Stage 4 and 5, I’m just waiting for this dejected feeling of my tire flatting and the farther I got down the last stage, I was like, “This is on, this is on.” I just pedaled as hard as I could, not wanting to give up any time. Just to cross the line and make it without flatting was such a relief, and then to win, I was just like, “Hell yeah, this is amazing.”

How does it feel sharing the podium with your teammate, Remi?

So cool. We’ve been best friends as soon as we got on the team together. It’s been six or seven years. He’s always been by my side and obviously I’ve been supporting him doing his thing, and he’s gotten one technical podium in the past [in Tasmania, 2019, after Maes was DQ'd], but to be on the podium with him is so cool.

When you’re leading the race for so much of the day, what does that do to your confidence?

I like to know how I do on the stages, just to know. You can kind of ride within yourself, or push it, and that’s racing, and I just like to know. And I felt like, “Okay, I don’t have to do anything crazy to win this race, I think.”

Jack, congratulations on another incredible podium. How did your day go?

It was a pretty tough day. I was battling toward the end. There were some super steep climbs and it was really hot. It was tough, but I’m stoked to be feeling on the way up toward the end of the season and back up mixing it with the top.

Did you have a strategy coming into today?

I just wanted to try to attack a bit more. The last few races, I’ve been a bit hesitant and not really riding confidently, so I guess I tried to do that a bit and also survive the pain and the big climbs. Staying super hydrated.

How are you feeling going into the rest of the season.

Good, we’re on the up! We’re making progress.

Hey Remi, how’d it go out there?

It started out a bit slow. The first two stages, I didn’t ride as well as I wanted to, and I wasn’t that stoked. I was like, “If I want to pull out a decent result, I need to just go faster than this.” So in the afternoon, I got up into the bike park and definitely went faster than I was going. I climbed the result sheet steadily over the next three stages. Going into the last one, I was in sixth, but we were all on the same second, like sixth, fifth, and fourth were all on the same second. I was like, “I think I know these trails better than they do, so I’m going to go as hard as I can.” I’d say I rode probably the same as the pro stage, but I just pedaled harder everywhere and had some fire in my belly for that one.

I kind of got lucky with Richie flatting, but he’s had a lot of podiums, so I really don't feel that bad.

How does it feel to take your first podium in front of the home crowd?

So good. This has been a dream of mine and I know I’ve been capable of it, but you can only do what you can do. There are a lot of fast riders, so to do it is so amazing. All my friends are here, my parents are here, the sponsors are here, it’s so good. Big week for Canada. To share the podium with my teammate Jesse is unreal. That’s something I thought was possible, but to actually make it happen is pretty special.

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Interviews Racing and Events Enduro Racing Ews Whistler 2022 Crankworx Whistler 2022